LAS VEGAS — Conor McGregor always says he’s humble and victory or defeat. It was that way Saturday night.

“The Notorious” gave Nate Diaz plenty of props when speaking to the media after UFC 202 at T-Mobile Arena. McGregor beat Diaz by majority decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47) in perhaps the best fight of the year up until this point, an epic affair in which both men had their moments and showed incredible mettle.

“I feel I have more skills, but boy is he one tough motherf*cker,” McGregor said. “He keeps on walking forward. He took every shot. I dropped him multiple times. He just keeps coming. His face was busted open and he’s still coming forward.”

McGregor, 28, dropped Diaz once in the first round and two more times in the second round. Diaz was a bloody mess by midway through the second and McGregor won both of those rounds.

Diaz came on strong toward the end of the second and won the third in a big way — so much so that one judge, Glenn Trowbridge, gave Diaz a 10-8 in that frame. McGregor, somehow, dug deep and won the fourth round. Diaz took the fifth.

It was a back-and-forth affair with a narrative all its own. The only fight in 2016 that might have been better was Robbie Lawler’s split decision win over Carlos Condit at UFC 195 in January.

Diaz, 31, beat McGregor by second-round submission in the first fight back at UFC 196 in March. McGregor was beating Diaz early in that one, too, until he gassed out in the second and Diaz finished him with a choke. This time, McGregor got tired late in the second, but found a second win in the fourth and that round sealed the deal.